Acoustic Amplification B200 Combo

Separate Active and Passive inputs.
Separate Volume and Gain controls.
Notch/Frequency controls knob.
6-band EQ (knobs, not faders)
Horn w/ on/off switch
xlr line out w/ level control
ground lift
ported cabinet
caster sockets
nickel enclosure corners
Recessed & spring loaded side handles
removable power cable
extension cabinet output jack
effects send/return
cooling fan
200 Watts RMS Power
15" Speaker
Blue Light for Power Display

...solo down side: Made in China (BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!), otherwise: glorious!

How is this only 200 Watts?!?! It sounds like so much more! I 'downgraded' from an Ampeg SVT4Pro setup w/ 410HE and 115B enclosures, and by all rights this is at least half as loud as that...and that rig was 1200 Watts! Tone is beefier, but still plenty bright and gritty like Ampeg. If you were considering any of the Ampeg 115 combos, I would urge you to consider this instead. It is perfect for the rock bassist looking for that classic tone that Acoustic and Ampeg have defined since the 70's. Sounds so much better than any other solid state rig I've ever played. I think it sounds better than my Ampeg (call me crazy...I don't care). It handles the low B of a 5 string with excellence. It handles the highs just as well, due to the horn! Horn does add a touch of hiss, but it's not terrible. I've heard so much worse from so much more expensive gear.

To answer the specified questions from Harmony Central:

- I play pick-style indie-rock. I like to use the neck pickup of my bass for the roundness, but EQ my basses for a fat and bright balance.

- This amp is perfect for the above style of music, or anything intrinsically rock in origin.

- It's actually really quite! Horn adds some noise, as stated elsewhere in this review.

- I only try to get rock tones out of it, so I wouldn't know how it would handle with other genres. I think if you're looking to do clean and contemporary bass styles, you might consider companies doing that niche, like SWR.

- You must crank the gain knob pretty hard to attain undesired clipping. It takes a lot to push this thing to it's limit! Most likely, you'll find your ear drums reach their limit first.

- The desirable distortion (not clipping, but 'overdrive') is mild and is merely more tone coloration than unwated distortion. Even this isn't heavy. Just enough 'dirt' to give this that envious rock bass tone!

Too new for me to make any judgements here. I've owned it less than a month.

Same as above.

3 Year Warranty is much more impressive than other companies, though!

I've been playing for 15 years. I've owned a Jay Turser P-Bass, a Fender American P-Bass, and a Schecter Elite-5 Bass. I've owned a Peavey TNT 115 combo, Ampeg SVT4Pro Head, Ampeg 410HE cab, Ampeg 115B cab, and now this combo: the Acoustic B200. I also own countless other gear, including various acoustic and electric guitars and amps, hand percussion, keyboards, and recording equipment. I would definitely buy this amp again if it was stolen. They should really include the casters with the amp. Wouldn't hurt if they had a headphone jack on this, so I could play in privacy at night, when needed. They might also consider stealing Ampeg's idea for the built in tuner? With these few judgements cast, I can't think of too much else to improve on. This amp sounds so much better than everything else I a/b'd it against, including a 220 Watt Fender 2x10 Combo, an Ampeg 200 Watt 2x10 Combo, an Ampeg 220 Watt 1x15 Combo, and a 300 Watt Line-6 1x15 Combo, Mesa Boogie and Behringer rigs too.

2008 model. Single channel amp with active/passive inputs. Effects loop, extension speaker jack. I never use the FX loop or extension speaker jack, but they're nice features to have. I NEVER use the tweeter, don't need that much treble, since I don't slap.
I wish it had a graphic EQ like '70s Acoustics. I'm not thrilled with the rotary EQ knobs and find the "Frequncy" control a bit of a pain to dial in. You'll be twiddling this knob all night...
Comes with sockets for push-in casters, they don't include the casters, but at least the sockets are there.
I bought this as a backup for my Peavey DataBass. (Which blows it away, but it's more than twice the power so no wonder!)
Used it at rehearsal once and found it to be underpowered...right at the point of clipping, and this was not a particularly loud band.
It's not nearly as loud as a '70s Acoustoc 450 or 470 which were rated at 175 watts RMS. I think this is due mainly to the speaker, which has a really small magnet and is barely up to the task. I replaced it with an Eminance Kappa. This should help, but I haven't had a chance to use it in a band situation since installing it.

I use passive basses, Fender Jazz, Gibson Thunderbird, Ripper, and Rickenbacker 4003. Stock pickups in all.
Tonally, it fits my style, which is classic rock type stuff.
Is it noisy? This is my main complaint. It's VERY NOISY!
I didn't notice it when I tried it out at Guitar Center, but at home there's a ton of 60 cycle hum. Other amps I own aren't noisy here, so it's not a ground problem in the house's wiring.
I took it back to GC and compared it to a B200 head...it was the same. Less noisy in the store than at home, but still noisy. I thought about returning it but what the hell, I already bought casters for it...of course, this is a $350 amp, but still, some crap amps from the '60s and '70s aren't anywhere near this noisy!
Lots of variety in sound if you twiddle the rotary EQ and Frequency knobs. It's kind of difficult to dial in a sound, though. For me, a graphic EQ would've been preferable as well as more in keeping with the Acoustic tradition.
It does have a LITTLE of the character of a vintage Acoustic, but it's still a lot more modern sounding. Not nearly enough clean headroom...OK, it's 200 watts, not 400-500, but still...
Agian, this might be partially due to the stock speaker, which is junk. What makes the amp heavy isn't the speaker, as a previous reviewer suggested, it's the amount of cheapo particle board used in construction.
IMO, a '70s Acoustic 370, 470, or 450 would blow it away. Better than a 150B/140, though!

I haven't used it enough in a gigging situation to judge the reliability.
The power cord input port on mine is quite loose and could easilt fall out during a gig. Hard to get to in the combo since it's set way back inside the cabinet, so plugging the cable back in quickly on a dimly lit stage would be difficult.

N/A

Been playing for 34 years. Other gear as stated above.
If it were stolen, I definitely would NOT buy another one.
I love the vintage Acoustic logo and styling! OK, and the slight bit of Acoustic tone heritage that it has...
I copared it to a Mark Bass 500 watt amp...I hated that. I chose it because no one seems to make a really ballsy, rock 'n' roll voiced bass amp these days. Everything's so sterile and bland. This amp is...somewhat...less so.

See previous review...I used my new B200 at rehearsal for the first time, took it directly out of the cardboard shipping box, and played it. It has a very musical eq section, and looks like with the notch filter you can dial in whatever sound you want to. This combo is smaller than I thought it was...that's cool. It also has two spring loaded handles...but no top handle.

I'll just say this, We have a full band, guitar, keys, vocals, but are all pro's and do this for a living. We play at a sensible volume, but with drums and a full p.a., and it is at least at a small club volume level. My gain was at 9 o'clock, master at the same position. The amp was plenty loud, and it sounded great! I didn't even hear the limiter kick in at all. The tone this amp produces is so far superior the the old Acoustic transistor amp combos of the 70's, it's light years better in every way. It has a musical quality similar to an older tube amp like a B-15, but with less 'squeeze' and more balls.

I can't rate it here, I just got it. They have a 3 year warranty, I believe, and that's pretty good. Ask me again in 3 years!

Before I bought it, I e-mailed Acoustic about the built in limiter, and asked for specifics on it, and the 15" driver. They responded immediately to all my questions, and pleasantly. I e-mailed them again after I bought it, and asked them about a cover, and they also got right back to me on it. They don't make covers yet, but thanked me for my purchase! I like this company, and can't wait for them to re-issue the 360, which I hear is in the works.

I've had so much gear in my 40 years of playing bass, I can't remember it all. I STILL have a lot of gear! The combos I've had-
Ampeg '64 B-15, '66 B-15N, '67 BT-15c, B-410. Traynor Bassmate, Supro Thunderbolt, SWR Workingman's 12. This little Acoustic B200 KILLS every one of those as far as a usable, practical versatile gigging amp goes. It also has a 1970's price tag! Mine was only $300. at Guitar Center on a Labor Day sale!
I have stated the issue I'm about to mention in other reviews, sorry, but I feel somebody needs to say it. Here's the only thing I don't like about this product- 1 point off here. It, like so much of what we buy here in America nowadays, is made in China - a country with a pretty much slave labor work force. That's why it's so cheap to buy. Ampegs are now made in Viet-Nam, and their prices haven't really come down...a negative for Ampeg on that one. My sneakers, some of the power tools I use, and things all of us use everyday are made there. I wish these amps were American made! So, it'll cost more dough? o.k.! Keep our money here! I think the new re-issue 360 will be made here. I hope so. I'm savin' up!

New 2008 design, retro like the 70's Acoustic heads and cabs. Company owned by GC and still in Van Nuys, California, but the amp is made in China like almost everything else nowadays. I just demo'ed this for the second time at my local Guitar Center. I am convinced now, that this is the best combo bang for the buck deal on the market right now. These are flying out of the GC's at $349.00 a pop. Mine was on sale, and its' on hold 'till payday. This amp has only a few things I don't like, the rest is all good. It is 200 watts- sounds like more- solid state, has a great eq section, and a 15 - tweeter combination. It seems like it could be quite effective in a small club, or as a personal monitor. It has a non-defeatable limiter, I don't like that so much, but its' not as intrusive as ones I've heard in some Peavey combos. It also has a standard magnet speaker making this a bit on the heavy side...a neo would have been nice- but its' a 300 dollar amp!

I tried this with an active 5 string with Alembic pickups...This was a real test...I tried to take it to its' limits, and did. The amp is quite respectable for everyday use, and it sounds GREAT! I could hear the limiter working, but it is acceptable. I a-b'ed it with a Markbass Jeff Berlin combo- also a 15, and over $1100.00, and it held its' own! I like the Markbass a lot, but there wasn't an audible $700.00 difference. I don't know about the di out, or noise levels, as I don't have it yet. It sounded great and I bought it, that's what I know.

Unproven at this time.

I e-mailed them to ask a few questions before I bought it, and they e-mailed me RIGHT back. That's one of the reasons I bought it. Warranty is 3 years, I believe- pretty good.

I'm VERY critical of bass gear.
I have 2 Pearce B2-p bi-amp heads, a GK 1001 rb-2, a GK Microbass combo, and at last count 8 speaker cabinets, Sunn Cerwin-Vega's, Mesa- all high quality cabs. I have 11 electric basses, and a 90 year old Lowendall upright bass. I am a professional bassist, work nearly full time doing this. I'm looking at the Phil Jones gear, but found this by accident. It's such a great deal, I couldn't pass it up. I hope they reissue the 360!